Hot Topics:

Louisville girl, adopted from China as a baby, headed to U.S. Naval Academy

Carly Donner reports to Annapolis on July 1, after graduating from Monarch High

By Elizabeth Hernandez, For the Camera

Posted:
04/19/2014 09:00:00 AM MDT

Updated:
04/20/2014 09:13:43 AM MDT

Louisville's Susan Loo and Larry Donner admit they were not good empty-nesters.

In 1996, the two had been married for 14 years, raised a son, Brian, who was then 24 and living in Keystone, and itched to have another little one running around their home.

After Loo had several miscarriages, the couple looked into Chinese adoptions. The idea took some getting used to, but before long, Loo and Donner couldn't wait to pick up their 7-month-old daughter, Carly, from China.

"It was my mid-life crisis," Donner said. "It was either a Harley or a Carly."

Eighteen years later, Carly Donner, a senior at Monarch High School, excels at most everything she does. She was recently accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., with a special nomination from the superintendent of the academy and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.

"Her arms and legs just hung there. There was no muscle tone, no nothing," she said.

With love and care, baby Carly got stronger and has been a force to be reckoned with since.

"She never crawled. She went straight from the floor to walking," Donner said.

As Carly grew, so, too, did her love for physical activity.

"She's run every Bolder Boulder since she was 10," Donner said, later joking that his goal for this year's Bolder Boulder is to beat his daughter's 10-year-old time of 1 hour, 2 minutes.

Advertisement

Now, Carly participates on a competitive jump rope team, runs and hurdles for her high school track team, is president of the school's marketing club, is a member of the National Honor Society and maintains a 4.7 GPA.

"I always want to be doing something," Carly said. "By getting involved in sports and activities, it gives me a set schedule where I know I'll have things to do. I've also been a pretty competitive sort of person, too."

Larry Donner and Susan Loo in October, 1996, while they were waiting for the call that would send them to China to unite with daughter Carly.

Although her parents sometimes wish she slept more, they both think her perseverance will serve her well at the Naval Academy.

'I don't want a normal college life'

When Carly first announced to her parents that she was interested in attending the Naval Academy, they were a bit surprised. They always knew their daughter would be attending college, but this wasn't what they had envisioned.

"When she first announced that she was looking at service academies, it was a real surprise," Loo said. "I said, 'If you're really into the military, why don't you do ROTC because you could do military and have a normal college life?' And her response was, 'Well, I don't want a normal college life. I want to go to a service academy.'"

Carly had been researching universities that would best accommodate her interest in engineering and realized the academies had some of the best engineering programs around.

"I've always liked math and science subjects best in school and, with engineering, I like the idea of creating something for yourself," Carly said.

"What I really liked about it was that, yes, you're in the Navy, but also the commitments that come with being in the military," she said. "I found they really push you to be a better person in all aspects. They push you physically, mentally, academically and morally."

She hopes to put her track experience to good use and hurdle and sprint for the academy.

In addition to the allure of military life, Carly has an underlying reason for her choice.

"For me, personally, I thought it'd be very satisfying to work for the U.S. and help serve the country that brought me in as a child — because I know that if I was an orphan in China, had I not been adopted, I wouldn't have any opportunities. I'm very thankful just to be here," she said.

'If anybody could do it, she could'

Loo and Donner supported their daughter's decision and saw her through the rigorous application process of essays, interviews, nominations and physical fitness assessments.

Loo said for one of the physical fitness tests, Carly was given the option of hanging from a pull-up bar for a length of time or doing seven chin-ups, which was the harder challenge.

"Of course, she trained and did the seven chin-ups," Loo said.

Carly said the application process was difficult, but in September, she received a nomination from the superintendent of the academy, and in January, another from Bennet. Her report date is July 1.

Her parents are excited for her to enter into this new phase, but they share some anxieties.

"As a parent, you always have a little trepidation when your kid joins the military," Loo said.

"If anybody could do it, she could," Donner said.

Notoriously distressed by an empty home, Loo and Donner jokingly said adopting another child is not in the cards.

"We're going to miss having Carly and her friends around the house," Donner said. "They bring activity. They give the house life."

"Plus, she keeps us young," Loo said.

Both hope their busy lives and work will keep them occupied. Loo plans to continue her service on the Louisville City Council, and Donner says his job as Boulder's fire chief keeps him well occupied.

Carly said she'll miss routine things like having dinner with her parents every night, but she's looking forward to the change.

"I'm so excited to be in the Naval Academy and serve my country," she said.

And she is focusing on finishing up her senior year.

"I'm looking forward to a lot of graduation parties, senior awards night, the yearbook, graduating, and prom is coming up," she said, describing her orange prom dress and a bejeweled necklace that belonged to her grandmother.

Carly Donner warms up during Monarch High School track practice Thursday. Adopted from China as a baby, she has been accepted at the Naval Academy. Her mother is on the Louisville City Council, and her father is Boulder's fire chief. (Cliff Grassmick / Daily Camera)

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story